Photo by Keith Stewart
Right fielder Jazmine Arnett prepares to throw to the cut-off after tracking down a triple by Bayleigh Tabor in the top of the fifth.

Knock Lady Comets out at home Thursday

May 21, 2015

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

It took just one inning Thursday for Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond’s softball team to put enough runs on the board to advance past regional host Windsor/Stew-Stras in the semi-final.
After four innings of shut-out ball by both teams, the Lady Comets struck first in the top of the fifth thanks to back-to-back hits, the first, a double by senior Kendall Knop, followed by a triple by Bayleigh Tabor.
But the Knights, who had just one hit up until that point, strung together six hits following two immediate outs en route to a six-run fifth.
After two straight strikeouts by Knop, freshman Janette Comstock sent a single to shallow right field. Fellow freshman and pitcher Macy Hollingsworth then reached on a walk. Sophomore Logan Kauffman, bringing the top of the order back round, then reached first after beating the throw from third–a moment that Windsor/Stew-Stras’ coach Kyle Knop says was in some ways the beginning of the end.
“ I’m not going to say he missed the call, but I felt that Arthur got a huge break on the lead-off hitter, who slapped it to our third baseman,” he said. “That was huge, because otherwise that ends the inning.”
After a brief meeting at the mound, senior Samantha Landers stepped to the plate with bases loaded and singled to left field, scoring two. But an error on the fielding allowed Landers to second and a third run to score, putting the Knights up 3-1.
Sophomore Mycaela Miller then stepped up and took the first pitch over the center-field fence for the two-run homer.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.